Neowin.net

Thanks to oqwarrior for the heads up.

From C|Net, Windows XP Service Pack 1 alpha builds have shipped to OEMs and eventually will include many enhancements to the core OS as well as the usual bug fixes we are used to seeing with a service pack. Such enhancements include:

• Support for the Mira technology.
  
• Ability for OEMs to remove more middleware technologies. This includes Media Player, Internet Explorer, Windows Messenger.

No matter which remedy emerges as the final one, Windows XP Service Pack 1 will give consumers their first taste of the fruits of the antitrust case.

News source: IB Elite
View: C|Net - Windows XP to reflect antitrust changes

The software is targeted towards large enterprise customers which use PDAs and must protect the data contained in those devices, such as government agencies and hospitals. For example, nurses at a hospital could have patient records uploaded to their Microdrive overnight, and then transferred via the Microdrive from a central PC to their PDA when they arrive in the morning, providing them with a detailed list of patient information for their daily rounds. U.S. federal regulations require that personal information stored by health-care providers be secured.

PDASecure can encrypt some or all of a user's files by converting the files into ciphertext, which is unreadable unless unlocked through a username and password, the company said. The encryption process was derived from a military-grade security algorithm developed by the company, Shahbazi said.

The software works on devices running Palmsource Inc.'s Palm OS, and Microsoft Corp.'s Pocket PC and Windows CE operating systems, said Shahbazi. A version for Research in Motion Ltd.'s Blackberry devices will be released by the end of the month, he said.

PDASecure is currently available worldwide. Large enterprises will pay US$79 for a single license and $999 for the server-side software package. Single users can buy the software to encrypt their personal Microdrives for $29.99, the company said.